Be a Life Long Learner: Book Week 2009

My wife is an educator. She is a successful educator and never has had trouble getting or keeping a job because (1) she is a great teacher (2) she know how to interview for a teaching job.

Interviewer: “What is the most important thing you want to teach the students?”

Mrs. Ford: “I want to teach all of my students to be life long learners.”

Interviewer: “You have the job.”

I suspect there is a little more to the interview, but people in education want teachers who will teach students to be learners – for life. Nevertheless, the truth is when most people finish their formal education they will rarely ever read another book in their lifetime.

Reading Statistics:

In the article Some Starting Statistics, Robyn Jackson reports:

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year.

Five Reasons Why You Should Start Reading More:

Reading exposes you to people who have thought about topics, not just people who spout about topics. There are a lot of bad books, but to write a book your content must be screened somewhere along the way. There is a lot of pooling of ignorance around us. We are a talking culture, and the problem with talking is that your thoughts are not processed and scrutinized as much as when they are written.

Reading encourages you to be a free thinker and develop your own views. If there is one thing I have learned by being around people, it is that just because a bunch of people think something does not mean they are right. Through reading you expose yourself to alternative viewpoints.

Reading introduces you to different steps, processes, and approaches. Think about how you budget. What if there was a better way to budget that could save you time? Those approaches are best found through reading.

Reading is a mentally active activity. When you read your mind automatically dialogues with the content. Sub-consciously you ask yourself, does that make sense? Do I agree? Then those thoughts become conscious considerations.

Reading is a healthy activity. I am not a person who is against television. However, I think people should balance their watching and reading regiments as both activities contribute to healthy mental development.

My Reading Guarantee:

You will receive a long term investment return for every dollar you spend on a good personal finance book.

I have often heard Dave Ramsey say that every book has at least one piece of information that is worth the value of the book. Consider that statement. Imagine you get a book on saving money and through the process of reading that book you find a way to save $1 a week. In a year the price of that book saved you $52. When you read, your new knowledge will bring a return.

Because I believe strongly in reading, I am christening this week as “Book Week 2009”.

Book Week 2009 Schedule:

Tuesday: If I’ve convinced you to start doing some reading, I want you to come back tomorrow so you can view the ultimate list of top recommended personal finance books. I have scoured the web to find recommended reads by some of the top personal finance bloggers on the net. Tomorrow I am going to show you the top personal finance book recommendations from all over the web. This massive list contains 88 recommendations.

Wednesday: I will post my top recommendations for Christian financial authors. Be ready to leave a comment on your favorite Christian books that relates to personal finance.

Thursday: I will give some tips on places where you can buy the cheapest books. I am going to gear this article towards college and university students who will be buying books for classes in the next few weeks.

Friday: I will tell you the best way to sell your books online.

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@ Bucksom – I had heard some different stats about reading, but thought someone was probably just exaggerating things – I guess I was wrong. I wonder why more people don’t make reading a priority? Anyone have any ideas?

I can’t believe those statistics! Here I am, feeling bad when I buy $25 worth of books once a month on half.com. (That usually buys me about 4 books). Although the books aren’t directly about personal finance, they are about being self-sustainable, which in turn has saved us a lot of money. I’ve learned how to do so many things myself! Can’t wait to read tomorrow’s topic.
.-= Kristin´s last blog ..Homestyle Dog Food =-.